10 Crucial Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Blogging
When I first started blogging, there was absolutely no strategy behind it. I just loved to write and wanted to share my journey of lessons with others. So I totally jumped right into it and used the other blogs I was reading as inspiration. Til this day, I’m still learning as I go and looking back, I never would’ve imagined all the intricate parts that come with running a blog. So if you’re thinking about starting your own, these tips will help to better prepare and save you from the mistakes that I made.
Don’t Pressure Yourself to Define Your Niche
Defining your niche is very important however, I personally feel that you shouldn’t pressure yourself over it. Typically when first starting a blog, you have an idea of what you want to write about. That specific niche can change once you begin consistently writing though. For example, I originally started this blog to document my journey as an up and coming fashion designer. As I started writing more about my lessons learnt, personal development and entrepreneurship, I realized that should be my niche instead.
That niche was not only easier for me to write about but it resonated with a lot more people who were interested in becoming entrepreneurs. Truth is, you won’t know what you’re passionate writing about until you’re doing it consistently everyday. This is why I feel you shouldn’t pressure yourself to define your niche too early. Write about the things that bring you joy and if your niche changes, that’s fine!
Posting Daily Isn’t Necessary
When I first started blogging, my goal was to publish a new blog post daily. I made posting daily a personal goal because that’s what all the other big blogs did. Here’s the thing though, those big blogs I was reading had multiple contributors to write and publish. Additionally, they spent years building their large readership that would visit daily for new content.
That was the difference between “them” and me as a new blogger. They had the manpower behind them to consistently write and publish content… I didn’t. As I started to read more successful blogs, I noticed that not all of them posted daily. You can still have a highly successful blog and publish once a week. It’s all about staying consistent on when you’re going to publish new content. Your audience will know when exactly to check back for your newest post.
Quality Over Quantity
Starting and running a blog is no easy task… it’s actually quite difficult. You will find that you’re your own writer, editor, web designer, administrative assistant and the list goes on. Therefore, you’ll have days when you don’t feel like doing anything blog related (and that’s OK!). We all need time to sit back and refresh our minds for new quality content. This is why I tell new bloggers that quality trumps quantity every single time! You will not lose your readers if you miss publishing a blog post for the week.
I’ve seen people make this mistake of pushing themselves to write when they’re mentally exhausted. This is because they’re trying to keep up with their blogging schedule and stay consistent. I’m all for staying consistent but not at the expense of your quality taking a hit. When you push yourself to create content while you’re mentally not present, you create crap. Trust me, your readers can tell and they do not want to read crappy content! So take your mental creative breaks and have no shame about it… your readers will understand!
Done is Better Than Perfect
There is no such thing as perfection, so please don’t let that stop you from launching or hitting publish on your first post. I know when first starting out, you want your blog to be an amazing experience for your new readers (and it will be). However, holding yourself back from sharing your content with the world is going to do you more harm than good. You do not need 10+ posts published before launching your blog! Honestly, all you need is a well written “about me” page and maybe 1 or 2 posts to start with.
People understand that you’re new to the blogging world and don’t expect for you to have a ton of content. You also have to face the fact that every new thing we all embark on, will most likely be terrible. I’m so embarrassed at my earlier posts and layout of this blog… but I learned along the way! You will embark on this blogging journey and continuously learn new things too. So don’t go looking for perfection, just execute and learn along the way!
It Takes Time to Become “Successful”
It takes a lot of time to become “successful” with anything… blogging isn’t any different! I’m sure you’ve been like me, reading tons of posts trying to figure out how to increase your page views and engagement. You see all these other blogs with large audiences and immediately want the same; I totally understand. When feelings like these arise, you have to remember that it all takes time!
The larger blogs with massive audiences have started before you, created more content than you, nurtured their readers longer etc. So don’t make the mistake of comparing your day 1 to someone else’s day 5,000. You will become your version of successful too! Just keep working and become better than you were the day before.
Start Your Email List Immediately
If I can go back and do things differently, I would’ve started my email list before I launched my blog! Your email is so important because it’s the one thing that you own and the best way to keep in contact with your readers. If you plan to monetize your blog down the road with services or e-products, you’ll wish you would’ve started your email list earlier. Please do not rely on social media to keep you in front of your audience! At any time your account can be deleted, hacked or maybe the next best platform rolls out. It’s not worth the risk of losing your audience by relying on a platform you don’t own.
Always Backup Your Blog
As a newbie blogger, I guarantee you will do something that’ll mess up your blog. There’s nothing like having your heart in your throat, when you think all the hard work you’ve done has been deleted. Do not set yourself up to fail… download a backup plugin immediately! There are a ton of plugins that you can download which will backup your site daily. Even better, they’ll save it to a destination of your choice like Google Drive or Drop Box. Stay in front of those unexpected errors and backup your site on a daily basis!
There are Multiple Ways to Monetize
When I first started blogging, I thought there was only a few ways for me to monetize my blog. Through affiliate marketing, ads and creating an Amazon store… boy was I wrong! There are multiple ways to monetize your blog and you don’t have to slap ads across it or shove products down your reader’s throats. I’ve monetized through contributor posts, where a company pays me to publish similar content on my blog. You can also create an array of products from ebooks, webinars/masterclasses, programs, video content etc. There’s really no limit on how you can monetize your blog to create another stream of passive income.
Nothing is Original Anymore
How many times have you written a blog post and saw a similar post on someone else’s blog? That’s because nothing is original anymore when it comes to various industries. Hats off to you if you’ve written a unique post, but odds are someone has written about it too! The key takeaway to remember is, although the topic may be the same, you make it unique. That’s what makes the experience different for each and every person. You’re your unique value add and no one will ever be you, write like you or have the same exact key takeaways you do.
Use Internal Linking
Internal links are very important when you’re first starting your blog. It helps keep people engaged and on your site longer. Nonetheless, it helps give you a boost on Google for SEO. When you internally link, you can keep old content fresh by linking it to newer posts. This was something I completely failed to do when I first started out. Once I learned more about internal linking, I went back to all of my old posts and linked them to others. Don’t underestimate the power of internal linking within your blog!
Starting a blog and running one isn’t for the weak, it takes a lot of time and effort to keep it growing. With these tips, you’re better equipped to navigate through this world of blogging!
Until next time ASSASSINS. . . Stay Disciplined!
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